


I Hold the Lock and You Hold the Key

by allimarie_xf



Series: Not your typical secretary [4]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Season/Series 02, UST, as in unresolved sexual tension my friends, post 2x06 at least, pre-oliver/sara, way less angsty than the last one yay!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 10:21:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15928439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allimarie_xf/pseuds/allimarie_xf
Summary: Felicity meets up with an old friend for drinks at Verdant. Some other people join her.~~~Season 2 UST~~~





	I Hold the Lock and You Hold the Key

**Author's Note:**

> Like the first work in this collection, this takes place in that heady pre-Oliver/Sara time in Season 2. Exactly where in there is up to you to decide, but definitely post-2x06. 
> 
> This work can be taken as a standalone, or as happening at some point before [Too Much or Not Enough.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15859746)
> 
> Regardless, this work can be considered canon-compliant.

Felicity tugged her short skirt down as she scanned Verdant’s crowded floor for her friend. She wasn’t used to viewing the club’s patrons as anything other than an impersonal throng that, while forever close to her in proximity, existed in a reality that was completely removed from her own. It was a little disconcerting to suddenly be among them, one of them.

“Girl. Giiiiirl. It has been too long!”

“Jessica!” Relief flooded her as she walked toward the familiar, friendly face.

“Look at you! You look hot! I like this new look! I mean, not that you weren’t hot before, but you have upped your game.”

Felicity walked toward her friend, but continued to glance around at the club. “Why did you want to meet here?”

“Um, hi Jessica? Thank you for the compliment, Jessica? You look nice too, Jessica? How are you, Jessica? It’s been like 12 years since I’ve seen you, Jessica!”

Felicity gave her a look as they took their seats at a small table. “It’s been like, 12 months, at most, Jessica. And you look fabulous, as usual.”

Jessica accepted the compliment with a smile. “Is that actually true? Feels like longer since you moved out of my building. Not like that’s any excuse to not hang out with me anymore.” She glared, but there was no heat behind it. “So, what’s up? What brought on this new look? New job?”

“Nnnnno. No, I’m still working at Queen Consolidated.”

“Mmmhmm. So.” She fixed Felicity with an appraising look. “Do you ever get to see him?”

Felicity tilted her head at her friend, genuinely confused. “See who?”

Jessica looked at her like the answer should be obvious. “Oliver Queen.”

Felicity exhaled harshly. “Oli -- Oliver Queen? Why would I see him?”

“Felicity! You work at the man’s company!”

“Yeah, along with like, a thousand gajillion other people!”

“Okay, okay.” Jessica waved a hand in the air. “You can’t honestly tell me you’ve never thought about running into him before, though.”

Felicity laughed, covering the fact that a montage of images of Oliver, mostly shirtless, had chosen that moment to run through her head. “Jessica. Why are you so obsessed with Oliver Queen?”

Jessica scoffed. “Why am _I_ obsessed with Oliver Queen? Felicity, every straight woman with a pulse is obsessed with Oliver Queen. Probably most straight men, too. I mean, have you seen him?” She forestalled Felicity’s response with a hand -- “I mean, not in person, but I know you have seen photos and video. If you spend any time on the internet,” she gave Felicity a pointed look, “you have seen him. So you know. That man is a god.”

Felicity met her friend’s eyes with her best impression of a woman who had never seen Oliver Queen up close. Without a shirt on. Sweaty. She swallowed heavily and took a steadying breath, shaking her head. “You know what’s funny, though? He actually owns this club.”

“Mmmmmhm. I know.” Jessica lifted her eyebrow and smirked.

Felicity gave her a disbelieving look. “Are you serious right now?”

Jessica’s grin only widened.

Felicity sighed. “Well, I hate to spoil your fantasy or whatever, but I heard his sister runs this club now, anyway.”

Jessica lifted her hand to her heart dramatically. “I know, but Felicity, a girl can dream. Just let me have this.”

Felicity tossed her hands up in surrender.

“So since you obviously aren’t fixated on your boss - well, boss’s boss’s _boss’s_ boss, probably - who _have_ you been fixated on? I practically had to blackmail you to come out with me tonight...or even to respond to my text messages! I get that you’re busy with work and your mama drama, but you must have some kind of life on the side…?”

Felicity looked away so that Jessica couldn’t see her reaction to the little fib she’d been floating about her relationship with her mom. Sure, things with her mom were a little strained, but that’s just how they always were, never quite on the same page. Her mom was not a bad person at heart, and Felicity felt a little guilty playing up her negative qualities to cover for her recent social unavailability. “There have been a few guys…”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Felicity lifted her chin, warming to the lie.

“Just none with a spark.” It wasn’t a question.

Felicity grinned a little, rolling her eyes.

“Justin Davies still asks about you, you know.”

Felicity swiveled her head in surprise. “Justin Davies? He and I never -”

“No. You and he never did.”

“He never even looked at me. Except maybe with disgust. There was that one time at midnight when I was in the mailroom and I had this big wet spot on my shirt - right over the boob - I mean it looked like I was lactating but what had happened was I spilled my ice cream and then obviously I had to wash it off, and I mean I didn’t bother to change because honestly _who goes to the mailroom at midnight?_ I mean, it’s not even my fault, really.”

Jessica was looking at Felicity in amusement. “Yeah, Felicity. Who _does_ go to the mailroom at midnight?”

Felicity looked at her for a second with scrunched up eyes. “I mean, I had just remembered I hadn’t checked my mail, and I didn’t want to accidentally forget to pay my cable bill or something….” She sighed. “Oh god. Justin Davies must have thought I was some weird lactating _mail fiend_.”

Jessica laughed. “I don’t think so, because _,_ despite what you might think, Justin Davies still asks me about you, and I don’t think he’s got midnight mailroom encounters on the mind when he does.” She made a show of tapping her finger on her lips. “Or _does_ he?”

Felicity flushed at her implication.

“If you want, I could pass along that you’re interested.”

Felicity instantly thought of Oliver. No, nope. Of Oliver’s mission. That’s why she was perpetually unavailable. And yet, Jessica had a point. She really had been cutting herself off from a normal life, to the point that she was starting to become a little more like Oliver than she ever intended. And you know what? Why shouldn’t Justin Davies be interested in her? It’s true, she was still awkward, but she wasn’t as shy as she used to be. She was beginning to realize that she did have a lot to offer a guy. Just maybe not one guy in particular, but that was no reason she should stop herself from having a life. Coming to a decision, she nodded. “Sure, okay.”

Jessica clapped her hands in excitement. “Awwwesome!! I’ll text him tomorrow.”

Felicity suppressed the twinge of guilt she felt at her decision. She didn’t owe Oliver anything. Especially not after he slept with Isabel Rochev, and especially not after that little speech he had made when she’d confronted him about it. No. She deserved something nice and uncomplicated. Like Justin Davies.

A waitress appeared at their table, and Felicity opened her mouth to give her drink order, but was surprised instead to see two drinks being deposited on their table. She looked at the waitress in confusion.

“Compliments of a friend.”

  
Felicity’s eyes immediately swept the room, looking for Oliver. She hadn’t mentioned that she’d be at Verdant tonight - as a matter of fact, she hadn’t known that Jessica would pick this place to meet up - but she was intimately familiar with the fact that there wasn’t a single area in the club that wasn’t clearly visible to the dozens of security cameras feeding directly to the lair. If Oliver was looking for her at the club, he’d find her. Not that he had any reason to be looking.

Jessica was looking at Felicity curiously, having noticed her odd reaction. “Who is this mysterious friend, I wonder…?” She looked up at the waitress. “Any chance you could clear the mystery up? My friend and I would really like to send our thanks.”

The waitress (Miranda, her nametag said) smiled sympathetically. “I’ll ask him if he’ll let me reveal his secret identity.”

Felicity flinched a little at the words, though she knew there was no way that Miranda could be referring to Oliver’s _green_ secret identity. Still, her eyes continued to roam the club.

After several minutes spent studying her apparently distracted friend, Jessica tapped Felicity’s shoulder. “Looking for someone in particular?”

“No, I…. Sorry.” Felicity huffed a laugh. “It’s nothing. I was just really curious about who might possibly have sent the drinks. I don’t know anyone here….”

“Are you sure about that?”

Jessica’s eyes were fixed on a point behind Felicity’s shoulder, her tone suggestive. Felicity had the sudden impression that someone was about to appear from behind her, and her heart surged with a wild hope before she could stop it. She swiveled in her chair, a smile at the ready, and found her eyes tracking up a very close, very broad chest, into a pair of eyes smiling down at her.

Brown eyes. Really, very nice brown eyes. Very nice, definitely not blue, unfamiliar brown eyes. She struggled to hide her disappointment. “You’re -”

“Mark.” He smiled charmingly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. The waitress said you wanted to thank me, so I figured I’d stop acting like a creeper and come over to introduce myself.”

Despite herself, Felicity laughed. “I’m Felicity. And this is Jessica.”

Jessica waved the tips of her fingers at him. “Have a seat, Mark. Join us.”

 

* * * *

 

By the time her second drink was nothing but ice in an empty glass, Felicity was feeling very relaxed. This was fun. Mark was here, Justin was going to call her, and she was on her game. Mark was seated to her left at the little round table, but his chair was definitely scooched closer to hers than was strictly necessary. Also, he kept touching her in small, nice ways that made her feel sexy and desirable.

Jessica was making significant eyes at her every time she thought Mark couldn’t see her.

Felicity just smiled back calmly at her friend. “So then, I ended up making a quick mod for Jira because honestly it was just easier than being a therapist to 4 different Project Managers who couldn’t seem to just talk to each other. Or _read email_.” She shook her head in remembered irritation. “Anyway. Sorry, I don’t mean to bore you.”

Mark placed his hand over Felicity’s fingers on the table, stilling their restlessness. “You are not boring.” He let his eyes linger on her lips before looking into her eyes. “You are fascinating. And obviously brilliant.”

Felicity bit her lip, unused to being on the receiving end of such concentrated, obvious interest. It was exciting, flattering, and she was more than a little turned on. Mark was attractive, and if his eyes didn’t draw her in as if they saw directly to her soul, they were still nice eyes. If his smile didn’t appear as if it was for her alone, it was still quite pleasant. If his voice, his words, his physical bearing didn’t surround her and provoke her and comfort her, he was at least there. He was there, he was uncomplicated, and there was no doubt that he wanted her. She wet her lips and smiled back at him.

Not looking away from her eyes, he asked, “Can I get you both another drink?”

“Funny, I was just about to ask the same thing.”

There was a startled shuffling of chair legs at the interruption. Mark had turned around quickly to identify the speaker, while Jessica, directly facing the voice’s owner, had pushed her chair back in surprise. Felicity alone sat unmoving, staring straight ahead, heart beating in her throat. She couldn’t see him as he stood directly behind her, but even if Jessica’s stunned face hadn’t clued her in, she’d know that voice anywhere.

She tried to dismiss her nerves before turning to face him. This was _Oliver_. It wasn’t as if she didn’t spend 14 hours a day with him. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been underneath her all evening - her eyes scrunched closed to shut out the vivid, inappropriate image that arose in her mind as a result of that unfortunate phrasing. Anyway. It wasn’t as if, all evening, she couldn’t have excused herself to go to the restroom and been in his presence within 2 minutes. Hell, it wasn’t as if this wasn’t his club she had been sitting in all night. But that was just it - even though he was always with her, surrounding her, smothering her even, he was simultaneously always just out of reach. And now, just as her decision to take steps away from him had left her more aware than ever of the wide chasm that separated him from every other man she’d ever met, he’d showed up at her table. _He_ had come to _her._ She tried very hard to convince herself it didn’t mean anything. That this was just Oliver. The same old Oliver who would put everything on the line to protect her - who would do almost anything for her except betray, in words, that he was a person who _felt_ things, and not just about ideals and justice, but about _people_. About _her_.  

And yet, when she finally turned to look at him, her heart sped up at what she saw. The ever-present sense of _recognition_ that always manifested whenever they looked at each other was still there, but something different and unfamiliar was sparking on the surface. And god, he was just so unbelievably handsome.

“Hello Felicity.” He shifted his gaze to look at Mark and Jessica in turn, and while it seemed his eyes lingered more heavily on Mark, Felicity couldn’t be sure she wasn’t just imagining it. “I’m Oliver. Sorry to just sit down here uninvited, but Felicity’s a friend of mine.” His eyes cut back to hers, and Felicity couldn’t stop the flood of lust that hit her at the sense of possession that seemed to accompany his words. Not that he had any claim on her. Except, of course, in many ways he did, even if they didn’t acknowledge all of them.

“Hi Oliver, I’m Jessica.” She reached her hand out to Oliver, even as her feet were frantically kicking Felicity under the table.

Oliver offered his hand and a charming, mostly-genuine smile. “Nice to meet you, Jessica.”

He looked toward Mark, whose hand was still wrapped around Felicity’s, and the sincerity definitely fell away from Oliver’s smile as he waited expectantly for Mark to introduce himself.

“Mark.” He had to remove his hand from Felicity in order to shake Oliver’s hand, and Felicity wasn’t sure why she did it, but she immediately removed her hands to her lap.

Oliver watched them settle under the table, then tracked his gaze slowly back up to her face, and it was as if Mark and Jessica didn’t matter at all. “I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.” Aware of their audience, Oliver wore a mask of easy friendship. Only that awareness of each other, the constant subtext that Felicity had come to realize only seemed to exist between her and Oliver, remained intact. Tonight it spoke of amusement at the game of hiding the real nature of their relationship from the very watchful gazes of two interested parties. And it spoke of something else, too. A familiar simmering _something_ that seemed slightly dangerous, provoking Felicity to call its bluff.

“Well, it’s not as if I tell you everything.” She lifted her eyebrows and smiled challengingly.

Oliver tilted his head and met her archness with a smile of his own. “Are you keeping secrets from me, Felicity?”

Unconsciously, she leaned toward him. “You say that as if you think I’m an open book.”

Oliver’s eyes widened in momentary surprise, and for a brief moment it was as if he were the open book. Then he smiled with intent, and Felicity felt a flush of heat. “I think I know you pretty well.”

Felicity raised her eyebrows and waited, holding his eyes and her breath.

He leaned an elbow on the table and propped his head up with his arm, which somehow resulted in closing the distance between their bodies. “I know you claim to not like sports, but you always seem to know the Rockets’ player stats….”

Felicity narrowed her eyes. “Data. I like data, and stats are data.”

“I know you need at least 16 ounces of coffee in you before you can function in the morning.”

Felicity tilted her head in concession. That truth could not be denied. For a second she wondered what impression his words were giving to Jessica and Mark, but he was still speaking.

“...But that your preferred daily intake is 48 ounces. And that any more than 80 ounces and you’re in for a terrible headache.” His eyes softened a tiny bit at the last part.

Felicity acknowledged it with a soft smile.

Oliver looked away to glance at Jessica and Mark, signalling to them that he knew they were there, that he wanted them to see this intimacy between him and Felicity. Turning back to her, he leaned in as if his next words were a secret. “I know that your favorite movie is Robin Hood - and that you tell people the Errol Flynn one is the best, but only because you don’t want to have to explain your Kevin Costner obsession.”

Felicity flushed, though whether in embarrassment at having been caught out, or in reaction to Oliver’s closeness and the way his eyebrow lifted and his nostrils flared when he said the word “obsession,” she refused to consider. She wet her lips, noting that the movement drew Oliver’s eyes to her mouth. “It’s not an obsession, he’s just a very good -”

“I know you like Madonna, and your favorite song is….”

He hesitated on a slight smile, and Felicity waited, watching as he paused to take her in, “...‘Open Your Heart.’”

Undisguised pleasure bloomed on Felicity’s face in response, because _how could he know that_? She told everyone it was ‘Holiday,’ and, like, it even said so in her Facebook profile.

He watched her as she struggled, obviously delighting in her bafflement. To regain her attention, he leaned in and emphasized his words with a playful touch on her nose. “I know that in the mornings, you like….”

She met his eyes with a gasp, the sexual tension suddenly overt.

“...pancakes.” Oliver continued without pause, but in tune, as always, with their shared subtext. And, for once, not backing down or changing its nature when it got too intense. “And you say your favorite color is blue.” He reached for her hand and lifted it between them, showcasing her sapphire-painted fingernails. “Though I have my suspicions that you might prefer,” he looked deliberately at her lips for a long moment before locking eyes with her, “…pink.”

She held his gaze for a long moment, thinking other words that might be truer, before letting them slip out on a whisper. "Or maybe green." 

Oliver’s smile grew in that slight way that was only perceptible to Felicity, and his eyes dropped to her lips, resting there for a long moment before locking with her gaze again. “Maybe.”

They stayed like that for a long moment, leaning toward each other, fingers entwined but otherwise close but not quite touching, letting their subtext have its way for just a little longer.

Eventually Oliver moved his other hand to cover their touching fingers, exhaling as he did. Felicity watched the movement of their hands, then met Oliver’s sincere smile with one of her own. He brushed his thumb over her upturned palm and squeezed.  

Looking around at their audience again, he spoke generally. “I guess I better be getting back to helping my sister. It was nice meeting you both.” He looked back at Felicity, the corners of his mouth turning up further. “It was nice running into you. I’ll see you later?”

Felicity nodded slightly, more granting permission for him to take his leave than in answer to his question, which, after all, went without saying. And then he was walking away, and it was as if everything that mattered had gone with him. She turned back to her friends.

Jessica was gaping at her. “Felicity, w --!?” Her mouth seemed incapable of shaping anything but the W.

“Okay, I wasn’t exactly completely totally 100% honest.” And she wasn't exactly totally 100% going to lie in bed tonight wondering what had caused Oliver Queen to suddenly show up at her table. Except she definitely, totally, 100% was.

Jessica scoffed. Mark was watching her intently, but Felicity didn’t look at him.

“I know Oliver Queen,” she admitted.

“Clearly.”

“He’s my...bwwwah.”

Jessica blinked at her, and she took a breath and tried again. “He’s my coworker. Acquaintance. Boss-thing.”

She snuck a glance at Jessica to see how her explanation was playing. Jessica continued to look completely bewildered.

“Look, it’s a long story. He was my co-worker, and through work we got to know each other. See? Perfectly normal.”

“You seem pretty close.” Finally, Mark spoke. “Like, _close_.”

Felicity flushed at his emphasis. Yes, the implication could be unflattering, but the truth was, they _were_ close, and for once it felt nice to not have to hide it. And while she had always trusted that Oliver would do anything to keep her safe, she suddenly knew, without a doubt, that it was not just because he felt that doing so was his duty. It was because he cared about her. And that meant something. It meant a lot.

She looked at Mark directly. Perfectly normal, perfectly nice, brown-eyed Mark. Who found her attractive. She smiled. “We _are_ close. We’re friends.”

Mark stood up, and any plan she might have had to invite him home with her (which was probably a bad idea anyway) was obviously out the window. “I like you, Felicity. You have my number. If you’re interested in being my... _friend_ , call me sometime.”

Felicity smiled at him and nodded. “I will.”

As he walked away, she turned back to Jessica, who still hadn’t picked her jaw up off the floor. “Girl. Giiiiiiirl. What _was_ that? Who even _are_ you? I knew there was something different about you, and not just that ass-hugging dress.”

Felicity grinned at her friend. “I’m still me. I just know a little more about what I want than I used to.”

“And is Oliver Queen what you want? Because Felicity, _I think Oliver Queen maybe wants you_.”

Felicity’s smile widened, even as she knew things were not, and never would be, that simple. “What I want…,” she lifted her finger to her lips in a show of consideration, “is for you to tell Justin Davies to call me.” She nodded her head once, decisively.

Jessica made a loud noise of disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Oliver Queen -”

“Oliver knows where to find me.” She shrugged, then nodded. A part of her wanted to excuse herself right then and go down to the Foundry, reignite whatever had just been burning between them, except this time with no pretext, no audience. She remembered his words, his eyes, his touch. She had strong ideas about where it could lead. But she knew it wasn’t quite time, and she couldn’t risk it. Wouldn’t. “He knows. Maybe some day he _will_ find me.”

**Author's Note:**

> So in hindsight, I guess this can be considered songfic? I mean, I didn't write it that way, but when I was trying to come up with a title, I googled the lyrics of "Open Your Heart" by Madonna (which I chose mostly because I like the song and the title seemed to fit my dialog) and boy, those lyrics are actually kinda applicable to Oliver and Felicity at this point. Hence, the title being a lyric from that song. 
> 
> Thank you all for your lovely response to my last work! I was inspired to keep going, which is why they are both now part of a collection. That collection (Not your typical secretary) will be random stuff more or less happening within a shared season 2 (CEO Oliver/EA Felicity) universe. I'll try to stay out of my own way and just write what comes to me. 
> 
> I would definitely be even more inspired if you tell me what you liked (or didn't) in the comments :D


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